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- Thursday April 16
- 08:26 pmBluetti’s FridgePower provides key protection against power outages [Sponsored]
A complete home battery backup system provides the ultimate flexibility in protecting against power outages, with options ranging from $1,200 to around $10,000, depending on how many devices do you want to power and for how long. But Bluetti’s FridgePower is a brand-new option designed to provide the most important protection in a form-factor specifically optimized for smaller apartments and kitchens. more…08:20 pmTim Cook boosts Nike investment with fresh $1M share purchase
Regulatory filings show that Tim Cook has once again increased his stake in Nike, bringing his holdings to 130,480 shares. Here are the details. more…08:00 pmApple increases MacBook Neo orders due to strong demand and sell-out
Apple's newly launched MacBook Neo, positioned as the company's most affordable notebook ever with a starting price of $599, has… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.07:56 pmMacBook Neo sells out for April as demand for Apple’s $599 laptop outpaces supply
Apple has sold through its MacBook Neo inventory for April. The earliest deliveries for new MacBook Neo orders from Apple now quote delivery dates in May. MacBook Neo’s launch has resembled a flagship iPhone launch more than a typical Mac release. After more than a month since its release, customers continue to purchase the $599 laptop faster than Apple can produce them. more…07:40 pmEdifier brings versatile audio to multi-device setups [Updated – M90 speakers now on sale!] | Cult of MacEdifier brings versatile audio to multi-device setups [Updated – M90 speakers now on sale!]
New Edifier M90 Compact Active Speakers aim to serve a variety of devices, bridging desktop and TV audio needs. (via Cult of Mac - Your source for the latest Apple news, rumors, analysis, reviews, how-tos and deals.)07:36 pmApple Glasses design, iOS 27 features, Creator Studio updates
Benjamin and Chance follow up with increasingly worsening availability of Mac mini and Mac Studio, as well as some interesting iOS 27 tidbits and the first feature updates to the Creator Studio suite. Also, Bloomberg reports on the design of the upcoming Apple smart glasses, and Apple shutters three retail stores. And in Happy Hour Plus, Chance finds some great HomeKit gear that just works. Subscribe at 9to5mac.com/join. Sponsored by Bartender: Organize and control your Mac’s menu bar so it stays clean and uncluttered. Visit macbartender.com/happyhour and use code HAPPYHOUR to save 10% on Bartender 6. Sponsored by Quince: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Visit quince.com/happyhour for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Sponsored by Shopify: See less carts go abandoned and more sales. Sign up for a $1 per month trial at shopify.com/happyhour. more…06:59 pmLatest Apple Glasses reveal shows Apple truly playing to its strengths
Earlier this week, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg outlined fresh details about Apple Glasses, with a special focus on design. Here’s why it sounds like Apple is truly playing to its strengths with the forthcoming product. more…06:59 pmLatest Apple Glasses reveal shows Apple truly playing to its strengths
Earlier this week, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg outlined fresh details about Apple Glasses, with a special focus on design. Here’s why it sounds like Apple is truly playing to its strengths with the forthcoming product. more…06:59 pmLatest Apple Glasses reveal shows Apple truly playing to its strengths
Earlier this week, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg outlined fresh details about Apple Glasses, with a special focus on design. Here’s why it sounds like Apple is truly playing to its strengths with the forthcoming product. more…06:59 pmLatest Apple Glasses reveal shows Apple truly playing to its strengths
Earlier this week, Mark Gurman at Bloomberg outlined fresh details about Apple Glasses, with a special focus on design. Here’s why it sounds like Apple is truly playing to its strengths with the forthcoming product. more…06:35 pmPerplexity AI rolls out ‘Personal Computer for Mac,’ delivering advanced AI orchestration | Mac Daily NewsPerplexity AI rolls out ‘Personal Computer for Mac,’ delivering advanced AI orchestration
In a significant step toward more integrated AI assistance, Perplexity AI announced today the rollout of Personal Computer for Mac… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.06:20 pm9to5Mac Daily: April 16, 2026 – iOS 27 leaks, Siri bootcamp
Listen to a recap of the top stories of the day from 9to5Mac. 9to5Mac Daily is available on iTunes and Apple’s Podcasts app, Stitcher, TuneIn, Google Play, or through our dedicated RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players. Sponsored by CardPointers: The best way to maximize your credit card rewards. 9to5Mac Daily listeners can exclusively save 30% and get a $100 Savings Card. more…06:05 pmPrice war: Apple's 1TB M5 MacBook Pro dips to $1,580
Apple retailers are embroiled in a MacBook Pro price war this Thursday, resulting in the 1TB M5 14-inch model falling to $1,580.Grab a 1TB MacBook Pro 14-inch for $1,580 at Amazon - Image credit: AppleYou can pick up the 1TB 14-inch MacBook Pro for $1,580 at Amazon in Silver, while the Space Black version is on sale for $1,599 at both B&H and Amazon.Buy M5 MacBook Pro for $1,580 Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums05:53 pmiOS 27: Everything we know about the fall 2026 iPhone update
Macworld There may be a lonh roadmap ahead for iOS 26, but Apple is already hard at work on the next major release: iOS 27. We have already started to hear rumors about what the next operating system will have in store for our iPhones when it is released in September of 2026, which we’ve collected here. Of course, plans change, and you should take everything with a grain of salt until Apple formally unveils it at WWDC in June. Here’s what we think we know so far. iOS 27: Performance over features Our most reliable intel about iOS 27 comes from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reports that Apple intends to treat iOS 27 similarly to Mac OS X Snow Leopard (version 10.6). After the major overhaul of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5), Apple spent the next year removing cruft, fixing bugs, streamlining, optimizing, and improving performance. There were new features, of course, but not as many relative to a normal OS X release. The result was one of the most popular and well-loved OS X versions of all time. Apparently, iOS 27 is going to follow the same route: there will be some new features, but much time and effort is being spent on cleaning up the code and improving performance.05:45 pmPersonal Computer from Perplexity can make a Mac an always-on AI operator
After a slow roll-out Perplexity's Personal Computer feature is more widely available to let users make a persistent agent that can access files, apps, and tasks across a user's Mac.An example of Perplexity Personal Computer from its videoThe release expands beyond an earlier limited preview and reaches Perplexity Max subscribers and waitlisted users through the company's Mac app. Personal Computer connects to local folders, native macOS apps, and the browser, giving the AI the ability to read, write, and act on data stored on the machine.Perplexity is moving beyond the typical chatbot model by running in the background and carrying out multi-step tasks. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums05:30 pmApple and Google’s app stores promote ‘nudify’ apps despite rules banning them, new investigation finds | Mac Daily NewsApple and Google’s app stores promote ‘nudify’ apps despite rules banning them, new investigation finds
Apple and Google’s app stores are promoting “nudify” apps despite rules banning them, a new investigation by the Tech Transparency Project… The post appeared first on MacDailyNews.05:25 pmNew Apple Intelligence features for iOS 27 found in hidden code
Macworld Some backend, hidden code discovered by Nicolás Alvarez and confirmed by MacRumors provides insight into some new features coming to Apple Intelligence in the future (almost certainly in iOS 27, or an update to it). The first two features are for Visual Intelligence. Apple is leaning heavily into visual AI as it prepares products like smart glasses, an AI-powered pin, and AirPods with cameras. One feature lets you scan a nutrition label to get more information and possibly integrate with the Health app. There have been rumors that Apple is looking to add food tracking to its Fitness or Health apps, and reading nutrition labels would be a step beyond the barcode scanning common in current food tracking apps. Another feature would let it add printed phone numbers and addresses to your Contacts. You can already add dates to your calendar with Visual Intelligence, so this is a natural evolution of the feature. Safari is getting a minor feature to automatically name tab groups based on the tabs within. If you’re a heavy user of tab groups, I guess that could come in handy. And finally, a very handy feature for the Wallet app to scan physical tickets, passes, and membership cards and produce digital versions of them within the Wallet app. Digital passes and cards are extremely handy, but not all events or businesses offer them or integrate with Apple Wallet; instead, they just send a pass via email. The ability to take a lot of those things, from gym cards to movie tickets, and add them to Wallet would be a great quality of life feature. Naturally, all of this was hinted at in backend code that is not yet ready for release. It’s all to be considered very much in development, and could change or be dropped at any time. All four of these features are good examples of how useful AI is more than just chatbots and AI slop images/video/music.05:00 pmOpenAI’s Codex Mac app adds three key features that go beyond agentic coding
OpenAI is releasing a new version of its Codex desktop app today. The latest Codex update adds three key features that expand its use beyond agentic coding. Today’s release signals the start of a shift for Codex. The app is going from strictly developer-focused to having more general utility as an AI tool on the Mac. more…04:44 pmApple TV’s gripping London thriller returns next week: first reviews here
Apple TV’s London-set crime thriller, Criminal Record, returns next week for a new season. Here’s what early reviews are saying about Criminal Record season 2. more…04:24 pmWhat’s the point of the App Store, if it can’t protect users?
Macworld Apple’s app-vetting procedures are in the spotlight this week, as not one but two news stories demonstrate the grave consequences of what appears to be a troublingly lackadaisical approach at the Cupertino-based company. (Updated April 16 to include Apple’s response.) Case study 1: “Ledger Live” On Tuesday, the crypto news site CoinDesk reported on a week-long phishing campaign predicated on the use of a cloned Mac app. Financial hackers created a cloned app called Ledger Live, using the former name of a legitimate wallet app for iOS and macOS, and managed to get it accepted by the Mac App Store. Users of this app were prompted to enter recovery phrases, and those who did so had their wallets completely emptied. CoinDesk says the scam affected more than 50 victims and resulted in the loss of at least $9.5m worth of Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies. One victim, a musician going by the name G. Love, vented his frustrations on X. “I had a really tough day today,” he wrote. “I lost my retirement fund… All my BTC [Bitcoin] gone in an instant.” He later clarified that his losses totalled 5.9 BTC, which at current valuations is worth almost $75,000. To most of us such a loss would be devastating. But the scam’s unluckiest victims were hit a great deal harder. ZachXBT reports that the three biggest individual losses were worth $2m, $2.1m, and $3.2m respectively. The app has now been removed from the App Store, but victims and commentators are questioning how the software made it past Apple’s vetting process in the first place. It’s also unclear how the fake app remained on the store for a fortnight, reportedly taking people’s money for the entire second week of that period, before the company took action. ZachXBT has even floated the idea of a class-action lawsuit, although at this point that remains speculation. Case study 2: Freecash With unhappy timing, news of this scam broke in the same week as the banning of Freecash, as reported by Macworld’s sister site TechCrunch. In adverts, Freecash offered to pay users to scroll on TikTok, but this was a flimsy veil for its real purpose: harvesting sensitive data. By installing and running the app, users were giving up data about anything from their religion to their sexual orientation, which the makers happily sold on to third parties. Many free apps are built on a data-harvesting business model, and such practices are not in themselves illegal or against the App Store’s terms and conditions. But critics complained that Freecash was harvesting data in a way which was manipulative and misleading. In January, Wired reported that the app used deceptive marketing techniques (the app’s makers deny this allegation, stating that “Our apps are fully compliant with the Apple App Store and Google Play Store policies, as demonstrated by the fact that they are live and regularly pass platform reviews”), and TikTok banned some of its ads. But it wasn’t until this week–shortly after being contacted by TechCrunch, perhaps coincidentally–that Apple finally pulled the app. That decision would appear to indicate that Freecash does not, contrary to its makers’ protestations, meet the standards of Apple’s App Store. (The Android app is still showing up for me in Google search, but the URL it directs to no longer works. Presumably, then, it’s been kicked off Google Play too.) But once again, it’s unclear why Apple’s vetting team wasn’t able to spot this shortcoming before welcoming the app on to the company’s official storefront. Or why it took so long to take action against an app whose murkier practices had been highlighted by journalists months previously. Rotten to the Store: The wider story I should emphasize at this point that the main reason I’ve discussed these two cases in the same article is that the stories happened to break in the same week. They each, in their own way, reflect poorly on Apple’s vetting procedures, but that doesn’t mean they’re in the same ballpark of misbehavior. The first case study above is straightforward larceny, while the second is more complicated: an ethically dubious developer choosing to skirt the boundaries of what is and isn’t permitted for personal gain. The principle is the same, but the offenders are not. There are two facts which unite these two apps. First, Apple allowed them on to the App Store when it absolutely should not have done. Second, when problems emerged, it let them stay there longer than it had any business doing. And these raise major concerns about the way the App Store is run, and the rationale behind Apple’s stewardship of the market for apps on its products. After all, the whole point of the App Store is to give owners of Apple devices peace of mind that the software they’re installing is legitimate and won’t cause any problems. Craig Federighi has claimed that sideloading, the installation of apps through non-official means, is a cybercriminal’s best friend. But what are customers supposed to think when even officially sanctioned software is liable to steal their secrets and their money? In what way is the official store better than buying it (likely at a lower price) direct from the developer? What does vetting actually involve, other than a malware scan and the eager exchange of bank details? What is the App Store bringing to the table at this point, other than an outstretched hand? This week has been unusually bad, but stories of this sort don’t come as a surprise any more. The App Store of 2026 is absolutely stuffed with slop, scams, and clones, propped up by an ecosystem of fake reviews pushing undeserving apps to the top of the charts. Phil Schiller was complaining about “insane” scam apps 14 years ago, and to the casual eye it’s difficult to see that things have got any better. Reports in the past few years have identified everything from fleeceware VPNs and exploitative knockoffs of popular games to (theoretically banned) AI nudify apps. Search is broken, foregrounding apps blatantly designed to trick you into clicking on the wrong thing; selling ads here doesn’t help matters. So-called trash apps are essentially a licence to print money. The App Store, in other words, is rotten. And whatever Apple’s app-vetting procedure is, it’s not working. Perhaps that reflects the magnitude of the job. At last count there were approximately two million iOS apps on the store, which across its 18-year history equates very roughly to 9,000 per month. Factor in the acceleration over time, not to mention all the other apps that were vetted once but have since been removed because the developers stopping updating them, and that’s a lot of vetting, even for a company with major resources. (Update: In fact the numbers are vastly higher. See Apple’s response, below.) But is that an excuse? Not really. If running an app store is too much trouble, close it down. If comprehensive vetting is impractical, stop pretending the App Store is completely safe. (And definitely stop scaremongering about sideloading.) If you can’t make the App Store a truly reliable resource for good, safe, legitimate software, then give iPhone users the freedom to install from other places. Or just stop pretending the App Store monopoly is about anything other than revenue. Apple’s response Shortly after we published this story, Apple’s PR team got in touch and requested the opportunity to make a comment… although, in accordance with a controversial policy, the company insisted that Macworld agree not to quote the comment directly, but rather to paraphrase it “on background.” We don’t think much of this policy, but wanted to hear what the company had to say, and agreed to those terms on this occasion. So while the following information was contained in a lengthy email from Apple, the precise words are mine. Regarding Ledger Live, Apple told us the app was removed for malicious bait-and-switch functionality, as per rule 3.1.2(a) in the App Review Guidelines. The developer’s account has been terminated. Regarding the banning of Freecash, the company again referenced rule 3.1.2(a), and also invoked rule 2.3.1: “Developers are prohibited from marketing their apps in a misleading way, such as by promoting content or services that they do not actually offer.” For violations of these rules, as well as the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, Freecash too has been removed from the App Store, and the developer’s account terminated. In neither case did Apple give us any explanation or apology for the apps being approved in the first place. Speaking about app vetting more generally, Apple told us it has a zero-tolerance approach to fraudulent and malicious activity on the App Store, which it says is designed to be a safe and trusted place for users to discover apps. It pointed out that users can report illegal or abusive content using this link, and insisted it takes such reports seriously. Finally, the company pointed to its own research on this topic, which includes some startling statistics: Apple’s app review team, for example, processes an average of nearly 150,000 submissions per week. More than 7.7 million App Store submissions were reviewed in 2024, and 1.9 million of them were rejected. Bait-and-switch violations alone accounted for more than 17,000 removals and rejections. Thanks to Apple for getting in touch.